


The Sith Curse

by Calyss



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Curses, Force Choking, M/M, Memory Alteration, No Mustafar, Rule of two what rule of two, Sith Empire, lots of, obi-wan suffers in this one sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2018-12-10 21:35:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11700333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calyss/pseuds/Calyss
Summary: Instead of order 66, Sidious unleashes a curse that makes the whole galaxy forget about the Jedi. Obi-Wan becomes Ben, a nobody from the lower levels of Coruscant. Anakin is Lord Vader, right hand of the Emperor.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3AM INSPIRATION HELLO!!!
> 
> Vaguely inspired by Once Upon A Time's Dark Curse.

Palpatine rises from where he has been laying amidst the fragment of the broken window. His disfigured face morphs into an air of compassion and he bow his head slightly before talking in a soft, sad voice.

“It’s too late. She’s already gone.”

It’s a lie, of course. Padmé is sitting at home, unscathed, waiting for Anakin too come back to her. But the young knight can’t feel it, too lost already for his mind to focus on the bright flame that is made of the combined lives of his wife and unborn children. Years of trust in the Chancellor are hard to let go off, too, even in the light of the day’s revelations.

He's a maelstrom of conflicting feelings, him who should even not _have_ feelings in the first place, or at least should not let those feelings govern him. He's still reeling from the Council's treason, a blow so harsh that the words of a Sith Lord sound more reasonable in comparison, and more trustworthy.

He believes him.

Falls to his knees, stunned by defeat and grief.

Palpatine stands over him, now, and Anakin would only have to look up to see satisfaction etched on his corrupted traits.

But he doesn’t look up.

The Chosen One crumbles.

 

* * *

 

 

“I can make the pain go away.”

“How?”

“You know how.”

“I don’t. Tell me.”

“Pledge yourself to the Dark Side. Pledge yourself to me.”

“I thought the Dark Side strove on pain…”

“It _feeds_ on it. It will leave you at peace.”

Silence fell on the Chancellor’s office.

Then a broken sob and:

“Please…”

 

* * *

 

 

Ben wakes up.

He stares at the grey, half rotten ceiling of his small, narrow bedroom, and wishes he was someone else.

He gets up with a grown, slide a hand through his messy hair and sigh.

He gets up and walk, naked, too his small, narrow fresher. As he takes a barely warm shower, he wishes he was somewhere else.

He gets dressed, tumbles down the stairs and opens the small, narrow bar that is his entire life. It’s the middle of the afternoon, and the first regulars will soon come in, all determined to get as drunk as possible as fast as possible. Ben thinks he might join them today as well. But what comes in, not even five minutes later, is not an alcoholic in need of his daily blackout but a squad of shouting, blaster wielding Stormtroopers.

Ben wishes he had stayed in bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn I really hope I'll continue this. I feel motivated right now but also tired. I'm gonna write down all my thoughts before going to sleep and try to do something with it tomorrow.


	2. The Call Knows Where Your Bar Is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently this fic is going to be made up of short chapters? Eh, maybe it'll work better on the long run.

Ben raises his hands up to his head's level at one of the troopers' order and the glass he was holding falls to the ground, shattering. _One more or one less_ , he thinks. Broken glass is a common occurrence in his bar.

"On your knees!" the same trooper shouts.

Ben grimace and goes down to the ground, his knees and legs resting over sharp shards that are easily felt through the thin and worn out fabric of his pants.

The Stormtrooper take of his helmet, revealing the face of a kaminoan clone. They are getting rare those days, last prized relics of the Clone Wars, dying out at the same rate as they were once grown. This one's hair is graying already, and his face counts as many scars as wrinkles. He scolds down on Ben like he's the very reason he's dying.

"Whatever you think I did..." he begins, only to be backhanded by the clone.

"I don't care what you did or didn't do. Shut up and put those on."

Ben puts on his cuffs, magnetic shackles that he can't even set just a bit looser than an Imperial would.

The Stormtroopers around him stand at attention in a perfect ensemble, aligning along the walls and the length of the bar and in comes an Imperial officer, cape swinging and eyes focused on a datapad. He waves distractedly at the troopers, prompting them to slightly relax.

"Ben..." The officer stops and looks at the man on the floor. "That's it? _Ben?_ No family name?"

"I have no family."

Be it by blood or by choice. He's alone. Has always been. Always will be.

"Well..." the officer says with the kind of expression that says that's it no surprise that a man like Ben is alone to a point he doesn't even have a family name. Ben sneers at him but the man is already looking back at his datapad.

Whatever, it's not like he's wrong.

"You're accused of hosting Rebellion meetings into," he looks quickly around, "your _lovely_ establishment..."

"What?! No, I've never..."

"You'll be detained for interrogation on Coruscant as long as deemed necessary then sent..." He shrugs. "On some Outer Rim mining colony or something like that... Honestly, I don't care, you're my fifth today," he says, bending toward Ben to talk to him in a conspiratorial tone.

He straightens and looks behind Ben, through the open door that lead to his room. "You've checked upstairs?"

"Yes sir," the bare headed clone replies. Nothing to report."

"Alright." The officer says, looking relived that this isn't going to last any longer. "Let's roll out!"

Two Stormtroopers grab Ben by the armpits and he's dragged away.

Next stop: the Inquisitorius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG those depressive waves coming out of Ben. I'm so sorry dude. It'll get better, I promise. Eventually.


	3. Inquisitorius

The room is downright chilly, the floor and walls and ceiling made of unrefined dark stone. Ben has been sitting on his metallic stool for what seems like hours now. His ankles are bound too, and linked to the floor by a force field. He can't move from there, can't even recline - since there's nothing to recline on - and he's both starting to tire and growing restless.

The sound of the door opening makes him look up from where he was staring into nothingness.

A man clad in blacks and dark grays comes in, and Ben almost feels relieved. That is, until he remembers the reputation of the Inquisitors.

He's in for a bad time.

"Hello there," he says, trying to put on a brave face, but his heart is not in it and he slouches on his stool, his gaze falling back onto the dark floor.

"Hello, traitor," the Inquisitor responds, a smirk clearly audible in his voice.

With an indolent gesture of his gloved hand, the man drags another stool in front of Ben. A hum echoes in his head and he stares involontarily at the Force user.

"Now..." He sits on the stool, legs spread so he can sit close to Ben. “Where is Ahsoka Tano?”

Ben stares at the Inquisitor for a moment, incredulous.

“W… What? You think I’m a _terrorist_?”

Oh, this is so much worst than what he had thought. If they think he has that kind of connections, they'll never believe in his innocence.

"Why do you think you're here?"

"That officer said... he said it was because people - rebels - met in my..."

"And that makes you a terrorist."

The man's voice is soft, full of certitude. Whoever gave him the - false - information, they sold it well.

Or it's just an Inquisitor thing.

“I own a _bar_!" Ben protests. "People come in and out and I don’t ask questions about their political allegiance!”

The man scoffs.

"Right, right, you're the dupe in all this, that's what you're telling me."

" _Exactly!_ "

"You're the victim, that's it?"

"Ye..."

The Inquisitor's fist hits him right on his left cheekbone.

"You're not the victim here! The Empire is! You vultures think you can bring it down? It'll fight back. For each blow it'll retaliate! It will triumph! And order will be brought back!"

"I'm not..."

The second blow stings even harder.

"Now, I see that polite conversation will not do," the Inquisitor says, voice calm again. "So I'll just help myself." 

Ben is still stunned by the impact and so it takes him a certain time before he can understand what's happening.

What clues him in is a slimy, nausea inducing sensation, as if something is trying to worm its way into his head.

 _He's using the Force again!_ The though comes in at once, making his eyes go wide with shock.

Fear fills him. It's irrational, he knows it. He should just let the Inquisitor have his way with him. Let him see that he has nothing to hide. But it's stronger than himself. Somehow, he hides. Or tries to anyway. He can feel immaterial fingers grab at the corners of his mind, prompting him to retreat even further.

it stops suddenly. Ben opens his eyes. He doesn't know when he has closed them.

The Inquisitor is frowning, looking both perplex and intrigued.

"What is this?"

He closes his eyes, bringing his hand up to Ben's forehead. 

"The Force is strong within you..."

Ben tries to evade the hand, like he did with the man's invasive presence just before, but he's stuck, his head not moving more than a centimeter or so.

The mental probe comes back, fortified by the physical contact.

"No, no it's not," he breathes out, shaking like a leaf in the wind. "I'm not..."

The Inquisitor raises his other hand, like grabbing at air. And Ben's throat closes.

With the lack of oxygen, his vision goes black, and he feels an even darker presence slips into his head...

 

* * *

 

Air comes back to him in a rush, along with the feeble, artificial red light that reign over his cell. Ben cough, trying really hard to not puke. He's free to move, or as free as his physical restraints permits it.

The Inquisitor is on the floor, gaping up at him. 

"Interesting..." he says after a period of almost silence - the only sound being Ben, still trying to catch his breath. "We shall see what Lord Vader think of this..."

The man starts to get up and Ben, seized by panic, shouts:

"No! There is no need to call him!"

Like everyone, he knows the Emperor's Dragon by reputation, and given what that reputation is, he prefers this knowledge to stay strictly second-hand. 

The Inquisitor freezes. Blinks.

"I'm not important enough. And this is just... _A mistake_. No need to disturb Lord Vader for someone as insignificant as me..."

"You _are_ insignificant..." The Inquisitor says as if it's something he has long thought upon.

"Yes, that's it," Ben says, feeling more confident for some reason. "And he will be _pissed_ if you bother him _for nothing_... Right?"

The Inquisitor seems to shiver, as if recalling previous instances of Vader's anger.

"It would be simpler to release me..." Oh, this is bold. But the man seems entranced, and Ben is feeling better about all this by the second. "To get rid of me."

"To get rid of you..." 

The Inquisitor's eyes snap wide open, as if some revelation has just stricken him. He stands up.

"You're going to Wobani."

"What?! No! No, no, no..."

The cell's door closes with a deafening and definitive sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From what I read Inquisitors are kind of a secret thing in canon? Well, not here.
> 
> For those who don't remember, Wobani is this lovely planet we see in Rogue One, with the Imperial labor camp :)


	4. Lord Vader

Darth Vader is fuming. He can't bear any more of the incompetency that seems to be the norm those days among his men. An Inquisitor! Duped by a some low level scum, an untrained, ignorant Force user!

Tesker squirms at his feet, pined to the floor by the unrelenting will of his Lord. He will be removed from the Inquisitorius for his failure, and send to some removed planet's temple, where he will serve the local priest.

But for now, he's Vader's chew toy.

"You arrogant fool!"

Tesker glides along the floor and goes to collide with a wall. A pathetic wail echoes in the room, Vader's office in the Inquisitorius building. It's seldom used, but it's as grand and sinister as everything the Sith owns.

Vader likes to think his only weakness is his taste for the dramatic.

"Letting and _untrained_..." With a brusque gesture, Vader sends the Inquisitor flying across the room. " _Captive_..." Tesker tries to move, to push back against the Force hold Vader has him in but the Sith crushes both his windpipe and the spark of rebellion mercilessly before pursuing. " _Civilian,_ best you!"

A respite in the choking permits the man to take a deep breath before stammering:

"My Lord... He's still in our hands..."

"And how long do you think it'll stay that way? If he tricked you, who's to say he won't do it again?!"

Of course Vader has already sent men - Inquisitors, usually better at their job than Tesker, and one of his personal assassins - after the prisoner transport. The authorities on Wobani have been alerted. He can't do much more baring going there himself.

But he has a - let's call it bad - feeling about all this. To be honest, he's expecting to hear that the man has escaped at any moment now.

But still, expected or not, his men will have to be punished. He can't let them grow complacent, especially when the Empire best units are getting decimated by the Rebellion, leaving only useless people like Tesker behind.

Vader picks up his datapad and reads once more through the report on the man’s - _Ben's_ (Oh, how he hates the lack of family name! It forces a familiarity that makes him feel ill at ease.) - arrest, Vader can see the truth clear as day: this man is most probably innocent and it was only a hazard that led those Rebels to his bar.

Or the will of the Force.

Vader brings out the mugshot that's been taken of the man just before he was shipped off to Wobani.

Fair skin marred by a fresh bruise, striking but tired looking blue eyes, a mess of ginger hair and a short beard... Vader looks at the man's face until he can see it even as he closes his eyes.

He laughs somberly, rubbing at his eyelids with his gloved hand. The Force has brought him a new student.

All he has to do is find him.


	5. Off To Wobani

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went to check the Wookieepedia page on Wobani and the discussion section had only a remark about how it's an anagram of Obi-Wan, and, idk, I find this coincidence incredibly funny.

Chained to a dozen of other prisoners in the hold of an imperial cargo, Ben is thinking hard.

Is it true? Is he Force sensitive? The Inquisitor seemed to think so. And the way he convinced him to let him go instead of calling on Vader...

But surely he would have noticed if he had that power with him all along. Someone would have noticed. He would have been brought in when he was a child, raised according to the Sith tradition. Made into a warrior, or a priest or an Inquisitor.

Lowering his gaze on his shackles, he tries to apply his mind on breaking them.

_Come on, Force, be with me._

Of course, nothing happens.

_Maybe I need to get angry..._

That's how the Force works, isn't it? It fuels on passion and fear and rage.

Maybe that's why the power never manifested itself until today. Ben's life has been mostly uneventful, his feeling usually ranging from boredom to quiet desperation.

He was panicking when he fought the Inquisitor back, and then riding the rush of having overpowered him.

But now he has calmed down, and only anxiety subsides. He fears that he's going to live his remaining days in the infamous labor camp, yes, but it's a distant fear, and really, it's not like he's leaving much behind.

He can't seem to muster any true anger against the Empire either. Sure, his arrest is unfair, but it comes from a flawed system, and Ben has known since long that being angry at something that vast and unmovable is useless.

He wonders if the Rebels will learn that one day. If they'll give up. He isn't sure what he feels about that idea. On one hand, he kind of admires them. They believe in something and fight for it. On the other, he also thinks that they're idealistic fools, who tends to endanger people who only want to be left alone.

People like him.

It comes from there: the spark of anger in his guts. Why did they had to come to his bar? Don't they have some places, owned by people who actually agreed to be part of their organisation? Do they think anyone would jump on the occasion of risking their life, their freedom for a lost cause? Do they even think about any of this when they pick up their meeting places?

An even worse though comes to his mind: did one of them sold Ben to get out of a death sentence? He thinks back to what the Inquisitor asked. If he knew of Ahsoka Tano's whereabouts. Is it something they ask anyone who has possible ties to the Rebellion or did someone told them that Ben knew her? If it's the later, then what a great bunch of freedom fighters they do, sacrificing honest citizens to save their own skins...

Ben is so lost in his thoughts that he almost doesn't notice his shackles breaking apart. He looks at them dumbly as they fall to the ground and all anger leaves him, as quick as it came. Instead, he feels guilty. Surely it was a misunderstanding. An administrative mistake. Or the consequences of torture. People would say anything, he's heard. Even things they don't really intend to say, just to make the pain stop. They would convince themselves of lies because they have to say _something_ , and then even an Inquisitor, who can dive into their brain, will think it's the truth.

He gets up slowly. Massages his wrists for a few seconds then looks around. The other prisoners are looking at him, eyes wide but mouth closed. They probably don't want to alert their guards more than Ben does, hoping he will get them out of there.

The thing is, he has no idea what to do next.

He isn't a fighter, never having to do much more than break off a few drunken bar fights. And even if he was, he has no weapons. And whatever he just did... Using the Force. He can't rely on that.

"Any fighters here?" he whispers.

"We all saw what you just did," the prisoner right to his left, a frail Galacian with a fresh cut across his pale blue forehead says. "You're a Sith. Aren't you trained to fight?"

Ben shakes his head.

"No, I'm not. And if any of you want to escape, I need fighters. And a pilo..."

He's interrupted by the sound of an explosion, and a shock that moves the whole ship and makes him almost fall over.

They all listen anxiously as battle cries and blaster shots echo overhead, all thoughts of escape forgotten. It lasts a few minutes, then silence comes back.

The latch of the hold opens and someone goes down the stairs, the sound of boots against metal clear and loud to Ben's hears, and as the newcomer finally sets foot on their level, something stirs in him.

Her smile is bright and her blades are white.

"Hello everyone, you're being rescued!" 

Their cargo has fallen into the hands of the Apostate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna talk about it in the actual fic later but I thought I should clear this up: Ben's problems with the Force are a consequence of the curse and the disconnect it created within him.


	6. The Apostate

Ahsoka Tano goes from prisoner to prisoner, slashing at their restraints with one of her lightsabers. The other has been clipped to her belt.

Ben watches her as she makes her way toward him. He's seen her face plenty of time since she rejected her Order and her Master, plastered all across Coruscant on "wanted" posters or hovering over speeder lanes on giant screens.

She was Darth Vader's true Apprentice, the most promising of his students. She used to be the Dragon's Shadow, clad in black and her lekkus cuffed with gold. She used to wield red blades.

Now she actually looks her age, younger than twenty, as she was barely a teen when she became Vader's apprentice. Ben isn't sure if it comes from what she's wearing - much simpler clothes, and a headdress is made of cheaper metal - or from her general attitude. The Shadow looked like her nickname, dark and lethal. The Apostate looks free and light, like liberated of the weight that was put on her by her Order and the name of her Master.

The hum of her lightsaber is almost covered by the relieved thanks of the prisoners and the noise made by their shuffling as they leave the hold but somehow Ben finds it soothing, like a quiet reassurance, or a promise.

He shakes his head. _Get yourself together, Ben, it's just a weapon_.

"You," she says in a low voice as she finally comes face to face with Ben. "Stick with me."

He narrows his eyes at her and is about to ask why he'd do such a thing but she's already turning around and making her way back to the upper levels.

He sighs and follows her. _This is about that Force business isn't it? How does she know about that? It was only a few hours ago!_

There are troopers lying around, getting trumped on by rebels and prisoners, armors singed by blaster shots or limbs cut off, he guesses by Tano's blades. He also counts two rebels among the fallen.

There may be more, but not on the way they go by. They clearly have won this, benefiting of the element of surprise and maybe, who knows, of having a goal bigger than doing an underpayed job.

The last of the imperials are holed up in the cockpit, with two Stormtroopers at the door. One of them has been hurt and the other is checking up on him, as if they aren't in the middle of an attack, as if they have all the time in the world. They're not reacting as the two of them approach and Ben can't help but feel annoyed at their lack of professionalism. If he was leading those men... 

Tano, who visibly shares his thoughts, makes a face at him before turning back to the troopers.

Ben expects her to charge at the two men but instead she stops. Close her eyes. Inhale. Exhale.

When she opens her eyes a quiet resolution has dawned on her face.

A shout. The Stormtroopers have finally noticed them.

They shoot and Ben's ducks in the hallway they've come from, but Tano is still standing in the open.

She's deflecting blaster shots like one would swat flies, with nonchalance and even still that same serenity.

The troopers cry out as they die, hit by their own fire, and Tano marches on.

When Ben comes after her, there are three other dead men, lying in the cockpit with singed clothes and missing body parts.

But it's not what catches his attention. 

What does is the view.

It has been years since Ben has been in space for the last time. So he walks to the bay as Tano searches the officer’s pockets, and drinks in the stars.

There are billions of them, as for once his sight is unobstructed by atmosphere. And nested among them, there is Wobani, in his cloak of dark purple dust.

It's both beautiful and menacing. A perfect symbol of the Empire's domination. 

On his left, he can see the Rebels’ ship, attached to the cargo like a leech drinking out the life blood that are the prisoners.

"Let's go," Tano says, having apparently found what she was looking for, something small enough to be put away into one of the small pouches clasped to her belts.

They get back out of the cockpit and make their way to the pressure tunnel that has been deployed between rebel and imperial ships.

Ben stops.

When Tano realizes he's not following, she turns around and looks at him expectantly. She doesn't look like a very patient person, however calm she can look during combat. He has to make his choice quickly.

It should be a no brainer, but he hesitates, remembering how he has thought about the Rebellion not only ten minutes ago. How it mad him angry enough to allow him to liberate himself, when not even thinking about the Empire, his actual captor, would do it. Wouldn’t it be hypocritical to allow them to help him, when he doesn’t believe in their cause?

But what choice does he has, really? It's not like he can go on his own with this ship, anyway. And it's their fault if he his in this situation in the first place, it's their responsibility to help him, really...

And yet, _something_ holds him back. 

 _Stop being such a weirdo_ , he tells himself and he takes a resolute step forward.


	7. Yavin 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg i legit FORGOT that i was writing this for a while???
> 
> a week later:  
> damn i hope this at least coherent i'm not even sure at this point

They stop on a mining asteroid, a forgettable place Ben doesn't know the name of. His interest in discovering it disappears soon, when Tano sends him a warning glare as he makes to leave the ship. He wants to protest, as she gives the choice to the others: join the Rebellion or go on with their life. But he recognizes the futility of it. The Apostate is not the kind of person you argue with. Who's to say she wouldn't kill him if he tries to go against her plans for him? He doesn't want to take that bet.

So he sits back and watch half of the rescued criminals leave. The Galacian that talked to him after he got rid of his restraints is among the ones who stay, and he introduces himself as Turon, before starting to babble about how he has always wanted to be a freedom fighter but "my ma needed me at home you see" and he's so glad Tano didn't send him away "what with how I look like I couldn't lift even my own weight".

He falls asleep as the blue man muses about how he could be a spy, maybe...

 

* * *

 

Ben wakes up as they land, his mind groggy and his back aching. The seats in the rebel ship are not the most comfortable, built with practicality in mind more than amenity.

He walks out of the ship, yawning and wincing as the morning light hits his eyes.

"Where are we?" he asks Turon, not really expecting an answer. 

"Ahsoka said it was Yavin 4!" The Galacian responds, surprising Ben. He would have thought that the Rebels wouldn't want to reveal the exact location of their base to yet untested recruits.

 _But then again, all it takes to now where we are is to look outside_ , Ben realizes as they go around the ship, and find themselves looking up at a gigantic stone structure.

The base is bustling with activity, ships and people come and go under the low - by comparison with the size of the edifice - entry of the antic pyramid and Ben wonders how they still haven't been discovered by the Imperial authorities. There are so many people here, and their base is inside of one of the most memorable landmarks of the area. He wouldn't be surprised if the Rebellion's invisibility was due to an official turning a blind eye on the irregular traffic that still must be recorded around the moon. 

"It's an ancient Sith Temple right?" he asks to no one in particular.

Turon shrugs but Ben catches Tano looking at him with a jarred look. When their eyes meet, she squints at him and asks:

"How do you know that?

"Isn't it common knowledge?"

"No. Not really. It was a really long time ago."

"Oh. I thought I'd learned it in some history class or..." he trails, out of idea about how he would know that. He really can't remember. 

Tano looks at him some more then shrugs and starts walking again, leading them inside the base of the pyramid, a vast area converted into a hangar. There their little group separates, the rebels accompanying Tano taking off with the new recruits, leaving Ben and the Togruta alone. 

"Come," she says. 

They go up to the middle levels, travelling through dozens of hallways and corridors until Ben can't help but feel utterly lost. Which is probably on purpose.

_Don't want me to get away just yet, aren't they?_

They finally stop before a nondescript door, similar to every other one in the area. Tano punches the opening command and makes an exagerate gesture, as if she's showing him some fabulous treasure.

"Here's your room. Get some rest. Someone will come to get you later. Don't wander."

Ben turns around to protest, but she's already gone.

"So, no explanation?"

His voice echoes into the empty hallway.

He's alone, for now.

Sighing, he closes the door of his new room and finally looks around.

It's not much, really, but it still manages to be larger than the apartment above his bar. There's a sitting area in one corner, with two cushioned stools and a low table, a desk, spotted with rust but otherwise empty, a cot that from the looks of it comes from some military surplus and a small mirror over a narrow sink.

He walk straight to the sink. Turns on the tap and splashes fresh water on his face. Then looks up.

The jet-lag that automatically comes with interplanetory travel (unless you somehow manage to coordinate your landing as to not disturb your day) has left its trace on him. What little sleep he's got on his way here didn't help in lessening the dark bags he's got under his eyes, that are however midly bloodshot. The bruises left by the Inquisitor's fist add nicely to the picture, and the end result is a downright mess.

Ben winces as he presses trembling fingers to the tender flesh of his cheekbone.

He needs a drink.

Alas, the room is bare of anything resembling alcohol. Or any food for what matters.

Not that he's hungry. He's rarely hungry, and his meals are more often made of what appetizers he happens to have in his bar and basic rations than anything remotely looking like actual food. He can't even remember the last time he cooked. 

Sitting on the bunk, he rolls his pants legs up to the knees. There are a about a dozen of little cuts there, from when he knelt into broken glass. Nothing he can do about that. They don't even hurt, all shallow and quickly forgotten among the chaos of the previous day.

He sighs and falls back on the bed. _What a day_. He wants nothing more than to forget it. Just close his eyes and be somewhere else.

He can't fall back asleep, though. So he tosses and turns on his cot. He thinks about the Force and how much it would have changed if he had knew, at the time. He wouldn't be alone today. He would have a purpose, and friendship.

He would be someone else.

 

* * *

 

His door opens on two women, both wearing orange jumpsuits. One of them informs him he's expected, although she doesn't precise where or by who. He just gets up and follow, too tired, physically and emotionally, to bother asking people who might not even know.

They fall in behind him, indicating him a turn when needed but mainly talking between them of repairs they have to make on their X-wings. They are pilots, obviously, and Ben guesses that they were chosen to escort him only because they were around.

Five minutes later, Ben finds himself in a cavernous room, the kind where he would expect people to meet for war councils.

Once the two women who brought him there gone, there is only three other people in the room, all ignoring him for now.

Two of them are Senators. Ben recognize them from HoloNet interviews and public broadcasts of Senate sessions. The ginger woman he thinks is called Mon Mothma. And he can't recall the name of the man but he's pretty sure he's from Alderaan. The third one is a younger man, who listens more than he talks and take notes diligently as the two others debate in hushed tones, obviously aware of Ben's presence, even though they haven't acknowledged it.

He lets himself fall into one of the few chair scattered around the circular table occupying the center of the room and watches them for a moment before deciding to, finally, interompt them and demand some explanation.

"So what do you want from me, exactly?"

The Senators fall silent and turn to him. The man hang a polite smile on his face and comes up to Ben, hand extended.

"We want you to join us." Ben shakes his hand but doesn't return the smile, keeping an air of expectation on his traits. "I'm Bail Organa," the Senator introduces himself. "This is Mon Mothma and here's Taric Sai."

"You're traitors," Ben says without thinking. He doesn't particularly wish to antagonize those people but it's true. They've sworn to save the Empire. They speak in it's Senate. And yet they're here plotting its demise.

"I like to believe we are loyal to the people," Mon Mothma replies without missing a beat.

Ben knows she a remarkable orator, one that even the Emperor has been known to listen too from time to time. She'll try to win him to their cause so she can make use of his power. He wonders if she knows the extent to which he doesn't know _how_ to use it himself. 

"You don't believe we are?"

"I do believe you think you are. But I don't believe in the Rebellion. To be honest I don't even really understand it. The Empire provides peace, stability. Why would you want to destroy that?"

"Because stability based on oppression isn't the kind of stability we should want. We need change. We need to abolish this... Tyranny. Or the common will to better ourselves will wither and die."

"Better ourselves by killing innocents bystanders? For a faction that claims to want to install democracy, you look a lot like terrorists from where the people stands."

She straightens herself from were she's leaning over the table, taken aback.

"They are casualties to every wars. We weep for the civilian losses, but we cannot control every battle's outcome..."

Organa takes a step forward, apparently thinking that it's a good moment to intervene.

"You could work with us toward reducing those losses. With your power..."

Ben laughs, effectively cutting the Senator mid-sentence.

"Look, I don't know what you've heard - or even how you learned about it - but I don't... I didn't even knew I had the Force until I was chocking in that Inquisitorium cell. Whatever you expect of me, I won't be able to do it." 

Mothma and Organa exchange a look.

"That's... unusual," Organa says. "We thought you... We have known for a while now. We were about to approach you when you were arrested."

 _So they have another one,_ Ben realizes. _Not just Tano_. He would have noticed the Togruta if she'd come close enough to sense the Force in him, he knows that much. Now that might explain why they were Rebels in his bar. 

_But not why the Order never knew about me._

"I want to learn," he blurts. He looks up at the two Senators and precise: "I want to learn about the Force."

Relief appears on Mon Mothma's face, and she exclaims:

"We can provide that!"

"Then we'll see."

She bows her head in acceptation but he can see she's disappointed. 

Ben feels he's about to be dismissed when the young man, Sai, steps out from the shadows he had retreated to while they were speaking and asks: 

"You say you don't believe in our cause and yet, you followed Ahsoka here."

"Oh, so I had the choice?"

"Of course."

Ben snickers.

"Didn't feel like it, honestly. Your Shadow is quite intimidating."

Mon Mothma's lips purse and she looks oddly pained as she says:

"She's not the Shadow anymore. She has seen the Light."

Ben opens his mouth to ask what the kriff she's talking about but Organa cuts him off before he can utter a single word.

“You’ll introduce them?” the Senator asks, looking somewhere over Ben’s shoulder.

He turns around to see that Tano has come in, as if summoned by her name, and sends her a quizzical look.

“My Master wants to meet you,” she explains.

Ben has a moment of panic as the thought that she’s going to lead him to Vader before the absurdity of this thought hits him and the feeling wanes down as quick as it came up.

He shrugs and gets up.

“Alright. Lead the way.”

 

* * *

 

"It's useless," Mon says once Ben has left the room. She slides into the Force sensitive's vacated seat. "He won't join us."

"We'll convince him," Bail responds, not sounding particularly convinced himself, he knows it. But they can't give up. Not yet. "He said he wants to learn..."

"I wouldn't trust him if he did, Bail. He has no reason to be loyal."

Bail sighs, Mon is right. If Ben doesn't believe in their cause, what would stop him from selling them to the Empire?

"I might have an idea..." Taric says. 

Bail turns to him, frowning. He doesn't like the sound of Taric's voice, and now he doesn't like his expression either.

"It's not mentioned in the reports, because it's old news, but even old news can be unearthed... Ben seems to have one friend, finally."

"And?" Mon asks impatiently.

"And this friend is here."

 

* * *

 

They walk into the woods of Yavin 4 for about half an hour, and Ben, just as he did - what seems an eternity before but must have been less than ten hours before - on the imperial shuttle, tries to profit as much as he can of the change of scenery.

Trees are a luxury on Coruscant, something only found on the higher levels in the elite’s gardens. There isn’t anything natural left on the the planet, only steel and glass.

He walk slowly between the trees, trailing his fingers over bark and moss and ferns.

Tano notices it, and she slows down so he can enjoy the walk.

“We aren’t in a hurry,” she says when he looks at her apologetically.

“What’s your Master doing out there?” He asks a few minutes later.

“He likes his peace and quiet.”

“Isn’t that counter productive? I mean, if he’s a Sith…”

“He’s not a Sith.”

Her voice is sharp and Ben can tell the subject is delicate, so he drops it.

For now.

He has a lot of questions about the Force, and he needs someone to answer them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that space travel is supposed to take longer than what I wrote in there but eh, i don't really care
> 
> Also I know this is chapter 7 and Anakin has been in only a short one but plz be patient, you'll get plenty of him later. just need to bring Ben there :D


	8. Tea Time With Yoda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me 2 monthss ago: "yeah i'm totally gonna update this week!"  
> This chapter: "i think the fuck not."

Master Yoda lives in a hollow tree, a giant probably as old as the Sith Temple that now serves as base for the ennemies of the Empire. A simple clothe isolates the shelter from the outside world, weathered but suspiciously exempt of holes, as if no insect has dared taking a shot at it. Tano gets inside without announcing herself but, well, she did say that her Master wanted to see Ben.

Yoda is small, green and obviously very old. It's the first time Ben sees someone of his species - at least he thinks so - and he can't even begin to guess what its name is or what planet it might come from.

"Questions, you have, uh?" he asks Ben once he and Tano are seated on carved stumps, cups or herbal tea in hands.

"Yes, I do... Master?" he adds after a pointed look from Tano. She called him her Master, even though she has also said he was no Sith. It's a bit strange but not the strangest thing Ben has seen those last couple days. Anyway, Tano nods quickly before taking a sip of her tea and Yoda doesn't say anything so it must be the right way to address him. "About the Force," he adds, more firmly.

Yoda nods at him, signaling him to go on.

Where to begin?

" _Force in darkness flourishes_."

The line passes Ben's lips as if on its own will and he feels quite stunned by it. The feeling seems to be shared by Tano and Yoda, who both look at him as if he has suddenly grown a second head. He's rather tempted to check out if it didn't actually happened because the words don't even sound like he's the one who's spoke them.

But even though _that part_ is weird, the words themselves aren't. It's an old saying. Less often heard than the almost obligatory "may the Force be with you" but preferred by poets and admirers of the occult Sith arts. It describes well the philosophy of the Order, like a summary of their Code. It shouldn't be so chocking to the two Si... Force users. It's how their power works, right?

"That's why I can only access it when I'm angry? Or afraid?" he goes on.

Yoda shakes is head, his green face contracting in disgust.

"But doesn't the Force finds its source in passion and..."

"Sith lies! In peace and harmony, the right path of the Force lays. Twisted, it was. Now forgotten, the Light is. Peace you must find in yourself and master the Force you will."

Well now Ben is confused. Even more than before, that is.

"But I wasn't at peace when I used it before!"

Tano sigh.

"Of course you can use the Force as the Sith do... If you're intent on becoming an homicidal maniac."

Yoda huffs in his corner, his furrowed eyebrows speaking of disapprobation at her callous retort but the corner of his mouth twitching. Tano glances at him and her face turns stern again.

A dozen of different retorts press themselves on Ben's tongue, ranging from "you must know what you're talking about, being the Shadow and all" to "homicidal maniacs are quite the hype nowadays, I should do well in that branch" but he has better to do than banter with her.

"Well I've never heard of that."

"Oh, so now you're the expert?" Tano interjects, apparently wanting that banter and earning herself a light tap of Yoda's cane. At least Ben assumes it's light, for the Togruta doesn't react beyond a contrite glance at her Master. But then again she's been the Dragon's apprentice. Maybe she's just used to the pain. 

"Dark is the Force, yes," Yoda says as he lets go of his cane. It's stays upright and Ben has trouble detaching his gaze from it to focus again on the old Master. "But dark it wasn't always. Forgot about it all, the Sith wanted us to. Succeeded, I'm afraid they have."

Ben nods as if he understands. He has other questions, maybe some that will give him more straightforward answers.

"Why wasn't I found by the Temple? I've lived on Coruscant for as long as I can remember. I even... I grew up with a Force sensitive. Why didn't they take me when they discovered him?"

Tano and Yoda exchange a look, and it's the Togruta who answers:

"It might be that you weren't strong enough to be worthy of their time..."

"Oh."

"But you seem to have caught up enough that Lord Vader has taken an interest in you."

He almost spit out the tea he was sipping at after her first, disappointing answer.

"What?! How do you know that!"

"We have our inside sources. He wasn't happy to learn about how you mind tricked his Inquisitor. He ordered for you to be found." She looks more grim at each word that passes her lips. "And knowing him, he won't rest until it's done."

Panic floods Ben in an acidic torrent. He has to flee. He has to hide. Go to the Outter Rim or, even better, Wild Space.

_Yes, Wild Space sounds good._

Then he blinks into the dimness of Yoda's tree house, and remembers the vacuity of his life and depression that at best clouds his mind and at worst has him going up to his small apartment drunk out of his ass.

He's going to have a life of his own. In the Core, or the Mid Rim. Someplace nice where he'll strive thanks to that power he's discovered within him.

He's going to have a life. But he can't do that as long as he is in the Rebels' grasp or some Sith Lord's prey.

"You have to teach me!"

"Teach you I won't," Yoda replies, shaking his head, his long ears bobbing almost comically as he does so. "Your own way you have to find find, then only I can help."

"But Vader..."

"Not stop, Vader will, indeed. Because of this, go there by yourself you have to."

"Go where?"

"The Temple. Our spy you will be."

"What?"

“Yes, you…" Tano starts but she stops abruptly realizing what they're saying. "Wait, what? Master?! I thought _Kaid_ was to infiltrate the Temple!”

“Dead, Kaid is. A spy, Ben has to become.”

“What, no!” Ben protests, as the same time that Tano exclaims:

“Kaid is dead?!”

They exchange a quick glance and Ben grudgingly recognize that her concerns can take precedence.

For now.

He makes a vague gesture and she nods before turning back to Yoda.

“When… How did it happen? Why did nobody informed me at the base?”

“Know of this, they don’t. Feel it in the Force, I did. On Coruscant, Kaid fell.”

“You can sense it from so far away?!” Ben marvels.

“Such is the true way of the Force,” the old Master pontificates. "Not blunt power. Not wicked coercion.“

"We all have our place in the living Force,” Tano pursues, as if merely proceeding on to the next part of an often repeated lesson. “And who is in tune with it can feel all being around. Master Yoda is very much in tune with the Force”, she adds, this time clearly addressing Ben.

Yoda nods once, his wrinkled face bared neither pride nor humility.

 _You’re so above of it all, aren’t you?_ Ben thinks, bitter for some reason.

"You'll go," Yoda then says, his gaze resting on Ben in a way that speaks of certainty, as if the old Master as somehow seen through his soul and found there that Ben arbors a secret and ardent desire to lay down his life for their lost cause.

Those people really need to reflect on their self entitlement.

“I've never even accepted to join the Rebellion!” Ben protests.

And joining the Rebellion is one - stupid, incredibly stupid - thing. What Yoda's talking about is an other one entirely. One that would certainly be lethal.

“And you want me to go spy for you? At the _Sith Temple_?!”

 _Are all the Rebels mad?_ Ben wonders.

"Want you they do; get you they will. To our advantage, we have to turn this."

"But..."

"To tempt you, they'll try. Bring out the Dark Side in you, they'll try. Turn you into their puppet, they'll try. Not giving in, you have to."

"How do you want me to resist... This temptation, if it's how things _work_ there?" And it must be what Yoda is talking about, right? The darkness will try to have him, because it's in the darkness that the Sith's poser reside. "When you're not even willing to teach me? Won’t you train me?” he pleads Yoda again. “I can’t go there if I know nothing!”

But the old little being has turned his back on him, apparently done with the conversation.

It’s Tano who answers:

"You'll do it because that's _who you are._ That's one thing the Force does, if you wanna know. It can give us a glimpse into one's mind, and when Master Yoda reached to you earlier..." 

"When?"

"When you where on the transport to Wobani. He sensed that there was good in you. Now we can only trust the Force that you'll be strong enough."

"And what if I ain't?"

"You will be. Just like I was in the end. You'll have to resist their training. You'll have to separate yourself of your emotions when they'll tell you to follow them. To be calm when they incite you to anger. Be cold when they'll want you to burn with passion. Don't fall further than you stand already."

"But... How do you even _do_ that? Not feeling it's..." Ben protests. "Without our emotions we're just... Empty shells."

_And you know a lot about that, don't you..._

Except it wasn't by choice. It was just the huge pile of _nothing_ smothering him. And it wasn't something good. Now he's been feeling plenty those last few days, and he doesn't know how one can just stop it when living in constant fear... Which he's certain will be his case _if_ he ever accept this insane thing.

Tano's gaze on him is somewhere between amused and disgusted.

"Oh you'll fit right in... Their rhetoric is pretty good, uh? Don't worry. I'll give you more tips before you go. For now I've got to head back to the base. Adapt the plan and discut logistics and all. Come."

She stands up, bow in Yoda's direction and walks out the tree house.

Ben pinches the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes briefly. This is all so pointless.

"Don't bother," he says as he catch up, not stopping to say goodbye to Yoda, as the small being seems to have dozed off in his rocking chair. "I won't go anyway. What is there even for me in all this?"

Tano doesn't look at him. She has an air of intense focus about her, as if she has heard something in the distance.

"Oh, I think the Senators have something that will change your mind."


End file.
